By Daniel Buckley,

Right now — for our 1 Like = 5 Meals campaign — FedEx is donating 5 meals for each of the next 10,000 new "Likes" the Food Bank receives on Facebook. That translates into 50,000 meals for our neighbors in need! "Like" us today!

This campaign relies on the power of social media — which is really the power of  individual supporters like you and your networks. By "Liking" the Food Bank you are providing 5 meals for New Yorkers who struggle to afford food. By sharing this campaign with your community, who knows how many meals you can help provide?

We need your help to hit our goal. Please post to Facebook, tweet your support, post on Google+, pin our campaign page or use the Share button below to raise awareness through your favorite channel.

And remember, you are not just providing meals when you "Like" the Food Bank and share our campaign. You are raising awareness for hunger relief and sending a strong message to your community that you care. In New York City, 1 in 5 people rely on the Food Bank to get by. We think that 5 out of 5 New Yorkers should know how serious of a problem hunger is in our city.

After you have "Liked" the Food Bank and shared this campaign, make sure to visit our interactive Facebook campaign page to see the impact of your actions and check on our progress. For every "Like" we receive, you will see FedEx's truck moving along, helping to deliver more and more meals for low-income New Yorkers.

With so many New Yorkers relying on soup kitchens, food stamps and other sources of support just to keep themselves and their families well fed, the Food Bank likes to set our sights high. Ten thousand is a big number. But with our supporters out there sharing on Facebook, Twitter, Google+, Pinterest and more, we know we can do it. Thank you for your support!

By Jacquie Wayans,

My story is very complex. We don't meet the stereotype. My three kids all went to Gifted & Talented public schools. I worked and attended Columbia University, School of General Studies to finish up my BA while remaining active in church and community.

So why were we on food stamps? Our family started relying on food stamps when my former husband was diagnosed with kidney failure and had to stop working. Our family was very young and I was a stay at home mom — not because we could afford it, but because we would have ended up spending more in day care, food and transportation than I would have made. So, I applied for WIC, Food Stamps and Medicaid. I did eventually start working, but then became separated and needed food stamps again.

Jacquie Wayans

After having lived through that, you might be surprised that I would take the Food Stamp Challenge. My first thought when I heard about the challenge was, "I can do that." It’s sure not easy, but sometimes it helps to remember where you were and how far you’ve come.

Here's an example of my life before I had food stamps: When pregnant with my middle child, I stood in front of a refrigerator with groceries that had to last 2 weeks. I prayed at that moment, knowing that it was not enough. That child's birth weight was 5 lbs 8oz.

When on food stamps, people I saw in the supermarket were often struck by how much fresh fruit and vegetables were in my cart. If it wasn’t for food stamps I would not have been able to purchase the healthy foods a growing family needs.

Working in education, I know kids do best after eating a balanced meal. If the Food Stamp Program is cut, children will be the ones who lose the most. Nothing hurts a mom more than not being able to provide for her child's basic needs. I am fortunate that I had a very strong church family during those times, but many have no one.

For most families, getting to the point where food stamps aren’t necessary is a big goal. For me, I always knew that it would be temporary. The transition off is hard because once you make a dollar over the cut off point, you're on your own and the loss can feel big. However, you keep on pushing.

Today I have my BA and a new children's book, Ambrose. And that child who weighed 5 lbs 8 oz is now graduating from high school with her eye on becoming a fitness trainer. None of that would have been possible if I wasn’t able to feed myself or my family.

By Lisa Hines-Johnson,

Today, Mother’s Day, is the third day of the Food Bank For New York City’s Food Stamp Challenge — a call to supporters to spend just one week experiencing what it is like to have to rely on a food stamp budget of $1.48 per meal. 

As I reflect on the challenge and how powerful it will be for people who participate, it has struck me how fitting it is to have this experience on one of the most important days celebrating mothers — as the face of poverty is overwhelmingly that of a woman and her children. I am also reminded of my own mother and our experience, as a single mother and her only child, having to rely on food stamps.

Food Bank Chief Operations Officer Lisa Hines-Johnson, right, with her mother, Gladys Pesante

It was the early 1980s when my mother lost her job after fourteen years of dedicated service to her company. I was young, yet old enough to know that something was different. My mother still got out of the bed we shared in our one-bedroom apartment in the Bronx well before the sun came up, but she no longer put on her work clothes or those high-heeled shoes that I slipped on while playing dress-up. My mom was now home when I arrived from school. We spent more time together. That was good. Nothing seemed wrong….at least for a little while. I found out years later that my mother was able to provide for us for some time with the severance package her company had given her. Once that money was spent, things changed. 

I asked my mother how she felt during this time of transition from a life of modest comfort to trying to stretch a dollar until even it begged for mercy. She shared that she did what she had to at a time when her options were limited. It was hard. She talked about the embarrassment that quickly turned to anger when she noticed disapproving stares as she paid with her food stamps. She wanted to yell out “I’ve worked. I didn’t plan for this!” She felt defeated yet thankful for the neighborhood grocer who was kind enough to allow us to get food that we needed and pay him later. And worried about how we’d get through the next week with the stamps — which were actually stamps back then — and other support running low. 

I remember when I first noticed that our food supply was dwindling which, of course, always happened towards the end of the month. Those meals always consisted of scrambled or fried eggs, French fries and a canned vegetable, usually beets. I remember sharing in my own little girl version of my mother’s shame, anger and sadness.

I also remember that, despite her situation, my mother always tried to do things that would improve our reality even if only temporarily. From odd jobs in local shops, to babysitting for children in the neighborhood, to taking courses to become a dog groomer and grooming the same three dogs every month, my mother tried with everything she had to ensure that I still had gifts to open at Christmas, parties to celebrate my birthday and a new outfit to wear on picture day at school.

As a mother of three, my heart aches for what I can now fully comprehend was my mother’s struggle during this period in our lives. As someone who lived the Food Stamp Challenge and never thought she’d have to, my mother told me how important she feels it is for people who participate in this experience to talk about it so that others might know how urgently the people who rely on food stamps need this support to get through the next month, the next meal. My mother and I hope that this challenge might inspire more people to join the larger discussion around poverty and what needs to be done to move people back into the lives they had, or the ones they dream of having.

Lisa Hines-Johnson is the Food Bank For New York City's Chief Operating Officer.

By Margarette Purvis, 

Seven months ago I returned to the Food Bank ready to put forth my best effort in helping as many New Yorkers as possible connect to the plight of our poorest neighbors. Within the first month I met with our Director for all things policy related to discuss this Food Stamp Challenge I saw on CNN. We had a robust conversation where she gave me examples of how it could work and the many avenues we could take. As I walked out of her office, I said over my shoulder, “I definitely want us to do that.”

So here’s my Friday morning confession: when I said I wanted to do it…I had no idea that she was going to make it a reality six months later and that I would have to figure out how I would eat for one WEEK on $31! I remember the day that they raced in my office to say that Susi Cahn and Mario Batali had agreed to lead the campaign. I was just as thrilled as they were. I remember when Mario stood before the crowd at our recent Can-Do gala and spoke passionately about why people should join his family in the challenge to relate to almost 50 million Americans and 1.8 million New Yorkers. I’ve smiled every time a tweeter joins the campaign. I experienced all of that and still on the first day of the challenge…I FEEL INCREDIBLY ANXIOUS.

I’m no different than any other working professional. I love a great coffee and probably lean on it a little more than I should. When I actually get a chance to go out for lunch…I expect it to be pretty yummy. My days are long and I typically have no desire to spend those final hours over a stove. GrubHub.com and Peapod.com feel like personal gifts from the universe TO ME. They make this working girl…WORK. So now I stare at 7 days on a food budget that I usually have spent in a single day. The overachiever in me wants to do everything really well. But the negotiator in me immediately started figuring out how/where I could adjust the challenge to fit my lifestyle. Hey, don’t judge me. I warned you that this was a confession.

Eighty percent of the Americans who rely on food stamps are women and children

Yesterday morning as I stared in my fridge berating myself for not shopping BEFORE the challenge and still having nothing FOR the challenge, I had a bit of an epiphany. I think the first lesson for me was to remember that what’s causing me anxiety equals RELIEF for people who actually NEED these resources. Imagine if my anxiety was based in having NO FOOD. I’m blessed that this is not my daily reality so I’ve decided to be grateful to have the opportunity to highlight the daily struggle of others. This doesn’t mean that I won’t complain a lil bit on one of these days…it just means that the disposition of my inner foodie has been adjusted.

The Food Stamp Challenge is about people living on the BUDGET and not the actual benefit. My plan is to crack open my handy crock pot and make meals that will stretch. Thankfully the Food Bank has a great team of nutritionists who put together a $31 grocery list. (That’s not cheating because this resource is provided via monthly trainings to our member network and clients at our Harlem site.) While perusing my list, the first thing I noticed was that the array of fruit that I typically eat is MIA. I can get a couple of apples though. Not the kind I like but at least an apple. Also, according to the list I would have to eat ground meat rather than ground turkey…because it’s too expensive. So, I decided to go online to find coupons so that I could hopefully trade up. You can follow my journey on Twitter OR you can join me by participating in the challenge, sharing your experiences on Facebook and Twitter and CONTACTING YOUR ELECTED OFFICIALS to encourage them to PROTECT this most valuable resource in our safety net….FOOD FOR THOSE WHO NEED IT.

By Russell Gee,         

As you know if you have been reading this blog over the spring, the Food Bank’s EATWISE nutrition education interns completed a project to raise awareness for healthy breakfasts at our high schools this year — with in-class presentations, marketing materials, social media efforts and more. We wanted this project to make a real difference on our peers’ health and diets, but how would we define success and know that we were actually influencing our peers? 

To me, if my peers could demonstrate that they learned something and thought the information was useful, this would be a successful spring project. I realized the spring project made a difference when I talked to my friend Ryan. He was excited to try and make one of the healthful breakfast recipes we presented. My other friend, Kaitlin, even told me that she was eating breakfast more often and was careful to make healthier breakfast choices. To see my friends actually learn something and make changes to how they eat because of what we presented was very rewarding.

The presentation itself was also an interesting experience for me. It was different than just presenting a paper. Our EATWISE breakfast project included full-fledged presentations — with scripts, a slideshow, games and information used to educate others about breakfast. The experience itself was like viewing a kaleidoscope, as I was able to experience what it is like to be a teacher, having to expect that anything could occur. 

Russell Gee, one of the Food Bank's EATWISE interns, was part of the breakfast campaign marketing group.

For me, one of the most memorable parts of the presentation was when we informed a class that skipping breakfast could actually cause you to gain weight rather than lose weight. (That’s because your body enters a ‘survival mode’ and you don’t process food as efficiently.) Seeing the surprise and intrigue on their faces was priceless. Overall, being able to reach more than 900 of our peers, through in-class presentations, school announcements, marketing materials and social media content — all of which we created ourselves — gives me and my fellow interns a great sense of accomplishment. Our project showed how one can change their perspective so slightly and get something worthwhile in exchange.

 

By Triada Stampas,

Last week saw major developments in the Farm Bill, the federal legislation that sets funding and policy for safety net nutrition programs as well as agriculture and conservation programs for a five-year period. The Senate Agriculture Committee voted to approve a draft Farm Bill that would cut $4.5 billion from food stamp (SNAP) benefits.

In New York City, this cut would reduce the monthly SNAP allotments of 190,000 low-income households living in public housing or receiving federal Section 8 housing vouchers. (The average income of a household living in public housing in New York City is less than $23,000.) 

New York’s only member on the Senate Agriculture Committee, Kirsten Gillibrand, voted against this bill on the grounds that it would harm some of the most vulnerable New Yorkers, and will be bringing an amendment to the Senate floor to protect children in SNAP households from cuts that may remain in the final bill.

The Senate Agriculture Committee’s Farm Bill draft does make improvements to the federal Emergency Food Assistance Program (TEFAP), which provides the main source of food to our city’s soup kitchens and food pantries. The improvements appear significant on first glance — adding $150 million in mandatory funding and giving the federal government explicit authority to purchase additional TEFAP food in response to increases in need. However, TEFAP has already lost $175 million this year. It is clear that, on balance, emergency food providers will be coping with even fewer resources to confront the increased need created by cuts to SNAP.

What happens next? The bill will be brought to the floor of the Senate, where our legislators will have the opportunity to offer additional amendments before they vote on it. The House of Representatives must also develop and approve its version of the Farm Bill; the difference between each chamber’s version must then be reconciled and a consensus proposal adopted.

What can you do?

1. Call your Senators and Representatives and let them know cuts to SNAP are not acceptable
2. Join Mario Batali and take the Food Stamp Challenge to raise awareness about this critical lifeline.
3. Spread the word to your family, friends and coworkers using the Share button below.

By Triada Stampas,

The House of Representatives is giving us new cause for alarm about the future of the safety net against hunger. Not only would the House Budget Resolution — commonly referred to as the “Ryan Budget” — that was passed earlier this month slash and restructure the food stamp program (SNAP), it would make billions of dollars in additional cuts to agriculture and nutrition programs. And just this week, the House Agriculture Committee adopted a plan to take these additional cuts from just one program: SNAP.

At a time when local unemployment and poverty remain persistently high, these cuts would reduce the food resources of more than 46 million individuals across the country — including more than 1.8 million New York City residents. In addition, these cuts would force some SNAP recipients off the program entirely.

SNAP is our nation’s first line of defense against hunger. Our nation’s emergency food programs — which provide the majority of the food served by our network of soup kitchens and food pantries — are supposed to be the last line. However, our network has already lost nearly seven million meals this year as a result of cuts in the federal Emergency Food Assistance Program (TEFAP). Cuts to SNAP will place added strain on a network whose defenses are already significantly weakened — if our first line of defense is weakened, our last line of defense won’t hold.

Further, Congress’s production of the federal budget coincides this year with the reauthorization of the Farm Bill — which will set policy and legislation for agriculture and nutrition programs, including SNAP and TEFAP, for the next five years. However, spending levels set in the Ryan Budget would not allow for funding of improvements the Farm Bill may seek to make for TEFAP or SNAP.

At a time when our country is still struggling rise out of a deep recession, drastic cuts to our hunger safety net should not be an option.

Act now: email your representatives in Washington today!
 

By Patrycja Dziedzic, Mariama Camara, Ivette Paulino and Deyla Sabio, 

Not only are the EATWISE nutrition education interns doing in-class presentationsabout healthy breakfasts — we are bringing our message beyond the classroom and onto the big screen: THE INTERNET!

As the social media group for our breakfast project, we decided to set up Twitter and Tumblr accounts because they were all the hype this year at our schools. On our accounts, you can find delicious recipes, pictures we took of our breakfasts and quick nutrition facts that relate to issues teens care about, such as having clear skin and a fit body.

We accomplished a great deal on Twitter and Tumblr because we collected a lot of information that we know teens will find useful. It’s important for teens to be able to view this information in places they spend a lot of their time, like the internet. The topics we chose to display on our channels were picked by us because we know what teens like and what will catch their eye. For instance, we want quick and easy recipes to fill our breakfast plates!

Teens are constantly checking their Twitter feed and blogging on their Tumblrs no matter where they are. This gives them easy access to our healthy messages. We enjoyed putting the content together – especially the recipes, since we tried them all ourselves — and brainstorming how social media can impact our peers.

Being a part of the social media group was a lot of fun because we had the chance to create the content for accounts we would use ourselves! Not many teens get the opportunity to do something like this, and we hope our viewers enjoy our social media accounts just as much as we do!

By Margarette Purvis,

Spring is one of my favorite times of year. You may be assuming I picked it for warmer weather and new flowers. Nevertheless the REAL REASON is all about March Madness. I’m never pulling for any one particular team — it’s more about the energy of it all. There’s something about all of that hope and ambition running up and down the floor, being shouted at televisions in bars and living rooms and jotted down on flimsy sheets of scratched-over brackets in offices near and far. For me, it feels like seasonal theater and I LOVE IT. Professional basketball is great but I often feel like those players are operating in occupation while the collegiate athlete gives you a view of a full on passionate pursuit of a dream. You may even get a few tears from one or both teams depending on the game’s conclusion.

I’m sure some people count the tricks and major demonstrations of athleticism associated with these games as their fave. I will readily admit that my favorite feature is a bit odd. I actually love to see THE HUDDLE. Sometimes they meet for inspiration and connection and sometimes they meet for instruction. Whether professional or collegiate, there will be a HUDDLE and I think it says the most about any team. I’m always looking for that opportunity to watch a team complete a drill every day in practice and place it squarely in the middle of their road to national championship. I wonder, “what is the coach saying right now? Is she yelling it? Stating directions calmly? Is the captain leading in this moment or has a lesser known player stepped up with exactly what the team needs at this time?”

When I was actively assisting organizations in my consulting business, the presence of HUDDLEs took on an inspired meaning. Whether in times of ‘great’ or ‘ick’, you could always find a HUDDLE. My time spent working with groups all over the country taught me that different people will always have different reactions to change. I learned to see the very specific variations in the make, type and nature of their HUDDLEs. In some situations you would get lucky and see some team member connect with the OPPORTUNITY change brings. They would take nuggets of conversations with leadership and make themselves over. They would attack their work with a renewed conviction in hopes of being noticed as a star, or to acknowledge that change was exactly what they hoped for and they wouldn’t waste a minute of it.

Unfortunately, they weren’t always the majority. Over years, I would notice that more people than not, would find themselves HUDDLEd in small uninformed groups, predicting plays that could be accurate if anyone cared to read the playbook. They would find themselves gaining “emotional” weight from their one sided diet composed of rumors, perceived victimization, innuendo and fact manipulation. In a five year stint I would often wonder if these folks realized that anyone HUDDLEd around topics that would not put points on the board via their focus on mission, purpose and future… was most certainly headed for failure. My heart would break watching people so busy gripping the tainted air mask handed to them by a Chief Naysayer that they would completely miss the free air, made readily available to them through the simple CHOICE to take a breath.  

HUDDLES provide the participants with a sense of belonging. That’s why it’s great that in our hectic lives we’re gifted each day with a choice to either HUDDLE around a) what builds US towards a life and world we desire or b) what builds UPON a LIE we’ve been handed. Do we HUDDLE about being an active member of change or waste time HUDDLING over how we THINK change will dismember our world? In 6 months at the Food Bank I’ve had a chance to see some amazing HUDDLING throughout our membership network. POTS, a member in the Bronx, found a way to get a major donor to HUDDLE around a 10 year vision for a new space…and now it’s a reality. In Washington Heights Love Kitchen HUDDLED with their volunteers until a new social enterprise was baking inside of their once struggling soup kitchen. In Bed Stuy we’ve all watched how a food desert has now emerged as the home of some of the city’s best urban farms all because a few activists HUDDLED around limited resources to make it happen.

Every day I imagine a new future for the Food Bank, our members and our community services. I am not afraid to imagine because I know that this vision will be shared (and made a reality) by the dedicated team members who have and will continue to show up for our good.
 

By David McCoy,

W-2, 1099, 1098-T, 1040, 1040-EZ. If you are like me the numbers on these forms may stir up anxiety or confusion. So what do we do? We stop by H&R Block or Jackson-Hewitt and, in the process, spend sometimes hundreds of dollars hoping that this help will lead to a bigger tax return. Whether or not you can afford that assistance, the reality of tax season descends on us all every January and hangs like a dark cloud over our heads, often until the last minute of April 15.

Last year, the Food Bank's Free Income Tax Assistance program helped bring more than $65 million to low-income New Yorkers

For some of New York's most vulnerable, there is another option, where people can get high quality tax services without any added cost. That's right: FREE. The Food Bank's free tax services provide assistance from thousands of IRS-certified volunteer tax preparers who help qualifying New Yorkers get the most out of their tax returns. And, with fourteen sites spread throughout the five boroughs, experts are just around the corner.

Last year, the Food Bank's Free Income Tax Assistance Program completed more than 37,000 tax returns New York City's working poor — helping to bring more than $65 million in tax refunds and credits back into the city. Our program is not only putting money back into the pockets of low-income New Yorkers — we also help move New Yorkers toward greater economic self-sufficiency by providing eligible households with access to bank accounts, food stamps, health insurance information and SaveUSA accounts — a savings incentive program offered in limited locations in New York City.

So spread the word with the Share button below, check the eligibility requirements and stop by and visit your friendly, neighborhood Food Bank tax preparer.